Safety-gate for railway-crossings



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M. B. M1 'SAFETY GATE FOB. RAIL GROSSINGS- No. 356,325. Patented Jan. 18,1887.

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` M. B. MILLS SAFETY GATE FOR RAILWAY GROSSINGS.

Patented Jan. 18

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MORTIMER B. MILLS, OFCHIGAGO, ILLINOIS.

SAFETY-GATE FOR RAILWAY-CROSSiNGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part pf Letters Patent No. 356,325, dated January 18, 1887.

Application filed May 3, 1886. Serial No. 200,935. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Mournuna B. MILLS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ghi cago, in the county of Cook and State o f Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Gates for Railroad- Crossings; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The objects to be attained to fulfill the rcquirements of the users of gates of the nature of my present improvement are, principally, simplicity and inexpensiveness of construction, without sacrificing in securing the same the all-important feature of durability and ac- 1p'uracy and reliability,as well as ease of operaion. v

It is my object to provide a gate answering these requirements in a high degree as compared with other existing devices for the same general purpose; and to this end my invention consists in the general construction of my improved device, and also in certain details of construction and combinations ofparts, all as hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents my improved gate in perspective, showing the underground communication between it and the airpump, which affords a means for actuating the gate-bar, air being the preferred medium for the purpose. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a detail taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3, a sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4C, a central longitudinal sectional view through the device as represented in Fig. 1, but with parts of the gate-bar broken away toward opposite ends; Fig. 5, a similar View to that shown in Fig. 4, illustrating a modification; and Fig.6 asectional view,show

ing details of construction, taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

The following description and the drawings are confined to a single pivotally-supported gate-bar, this being sufficient to illustrate the invention, Awhich of coursewillnotbe changed by adding another swinging bar supported to work with it, two end bars swinging in opposite directions being the number commonly employed on opposite sides of a crossing, parallel with the track, or several, all of which gatebar toward its base.

may be operated from the same point by providing the proper connections.

A is the gate-bar. side pieces, o i", converging toward their forward extremities, where they are secured together to lend a tapering form to the bar, and

v secured toward their opposite ends upon oppositev sides of a solid block, B, preferably tapering, as shown, toward its rear extremity, strengthening-pieces q and g being fastened between the side pieces, o a, serving also to assist in maintaining the latter apart, and another purpose, hereinafterl described.

C and C are vertical posts, between which the bar A is pivotally supported upon jour- 'nals p, extending into the posts, or through them, as shown, from opposite sides of the It is preferred to have the bar heaviest on the rear side 0f its pivotal bearing, whereby it will tend to assume of its own accord Aa vertical position; and this lnay be accomplished by employing a block, B, for the base heavier than the part of the bar forward of the pivotal support, or it may be done, as shown, by providing weights o toward the rear end of the base B. When this latter means is adopted, it is preferred to render the weights o adjustable by having upon them slotted extensions o', through which eX- tends a set-screw, u, (metal plates m being provided in proper position, as shown, on the base B and having screw-threaded openings to receive the set-screw) whereby the weights may be adjusted toward or from the rear end of the gate-bar; and transverse openings Z are formed in the weights o to receive a bolt, Z', serving to secure added weight 0l upon the weights o.

One of the difficulties encountered in the operation of railroadgates of the class to which my improvement relates consists in an inability to overcome the opposing force of the wind. This is the case with gates the bars of which are pivotally supported each on a single post and in which the base embraces the supporting-post, being either covered on its upper side or not. Vith such devices the effect of the wind is, when blowing in the direction of the descent of the bar, to tend to lower it and impede the raising operation, and when blowing This is formed of light I IOO in the opposite direction to strain it while raised and assist the operation of raising with a force which prevents the exercise of proper control by the operator and exerts injurious strain upon the device. 3y supporting the gate-bar between two posts, as shown, I ovcrcome this difficulty, since the force ofthe wind is exerted upon it equally, or substantially' so, upon both sides of the pivotal bearing, and the effect of the force exerted on one side is countcractcd by that exerted on the opposite side.

rlhe base or block lll is provided centrally and longitudinally with an opening, 7.', to hold a cylinder, D, containing a piston-head, D', upon one end of a rod, F, which extends toward the forward end ofthe gatebar, being supported in the cross-pieces (l q, through which holes are formed to permit its passage, and carries on its forward extremity a weight, F, sufficiently heavy to establish, when shifted to its cxtreme forward limit, an equilibrium on both sides of the pivotal bearing of the bar A, whereby when the latter is lowered it will remain in such position until thc weight F is moved backward.

The shifting of the weight I prefer to produce by means of air pressure and exhaust, a suitable ainpnmp, G, being provided and l0- cated at a proper point, from whence it communicates with the cylinder D, behind the piston-head D', by means of piping t', partly under ground, if desired, as shown, and extending along` the side of a post, C,which may be grooycd longitudinally to receive it, and a tube, t', extending from the cylinder D, with which it communicates behind the piston, through the base B below the cylinder, a rubber-hose connection, il, being provided between the pipes i and fi to afford an extensible yielding communication between the two, and thus permit the movements of the gate-bar. By forcing air into the cylinder D it forces out the piston, thereby shifting the weight F on the rod E toward the forward end of the bar A. This obviously would not, however, serve to lower the bar from its raised vertical position, though, as already described, it will, when shifted toits farthest forward extremity, maintain the bar down when lowered; but t0 produce the lowering effect a cable, H, is fastcned at one cnd centrally to a cross-bar, h, extending from the post C to the post C', passes over a pulley, y, supported in the cross-piece q, and is fastened at its opposite end to the piston-rod, as shown, whereby as the rod E moves outward it pulls the cable after it. The play of the piston-rod is exactly equal to the difference between the distance from the pulley g to the point of attachment of the cable H on the cross-bar l1, with the bar A down, and that between the saine points with the gate-bar raised to its vertical position; hence the cable is always taut, and there is no lost motion of the piston-rod, whereby the gatebar will begin to lower as soon as the pistonrod is started.

To raise the gate-bar from its lowered condition, the pump G is actuated to exhaust the air from behind the piston, whereby it will be caused to move inward, and thus shift the weight F backward, thereby overcoming the equilibrium produced by it when extended to its forward limit, and causing the heavier end of the gate-bar to raise the lighter gradually and with an even motion.

The modification shown in Fig. 5 illustrates another way of arranging the weight F to operate forv the purpose hereinafter described. It is provided upon the end of a rod,

f vivotcd at its o i iosite end u )on a bear-infr. i l l s,

e, supported on the upper or rear side of the gate-bar, toward its forward or upper extremity, and connected with the piston-rod E by means of a link, d, pivoted to the rod j', toward the center of the latter at one end, and to the extremity of the piston-rod at its other end. The outward motion of the piston-rod forces the rod f to the position shown in Fig. 5, thereby sending the weight F to the desired position to maint-ain the gate-bar down when lowered, and'making of the rod f a leg to prop the gate-bar by the contact of the weight F with the ground, and the inward motion ofthe piston-rod operates to raise the rod f to a horizontal position, thereby bringing the weight F backward toward the pivotal support of the gate-bar and overcoming the equilibrium on opposite sides thereof, whereby the gate-bar is caused to rise by the excess of weight atits rear end.

The exact position shown of the shifting weight F is not essential, (although preferred,) inasmuch as it could be farther back, and could even be afforded bythe reciprocating` piston-head itself.

XVhatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. rlhe combination, with a gate-bar pivotl ally supported to swing in a vertical plane, of

a shifting weight upon the said gate-bar, a cable flexibly connecting the shifting weight with the gate-bar support, and an intermediate bearing on the gate-bar for the connecting medium between the opposite ends of the latter, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. rlhe combination of a gate-bar pivotally supported to swing in a vertical plane, a cylinder upon the gate-bar communicating with an air-pump, a piston-head within the `cylin` der, a piston-rod, E, connected at one end with the piston-head and supported on the gatebar, a weight, F, upon the opposite end ofthe pistoirrod, and a cable, H, connecting the piston-rod with the support for the gate-bar and passing over an intermediate bearing, q, on the gate-bar, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of posts C and C', a gatebar, A, pivoted to swing in a vertical plane between the posts forward of its center of gravity, a cylinder, D, upon the gatebar, toward its rear end, and containing a piston- ICO IIO

IIS

head, D', an air-pump, G, Communicating ate bearing, q, on the gate-bar, substantially with the cylinder behind the piston, a pistonas and for the purpose seb forth.

rod, E connected ab onc end with the pistonhead and supported on the gate-bar, aweight, MORTIMER B' MILLS' 5 F, upon lhe opposite end of the piston-rod, In presence ofand a cable, H, connecting the piston-rod with HENRY HUDSON, the posts C C and passing over an intermedi- J. WV. DYRENFORTH. 

